Page 52 of Vengeful Devotion
“Isn’t that obvious?” I answer. “She’s the one.”
Juliette and Gemma’s mouth fall open. Dean is the only one not surprised. He smiles at me. “What took you so long? I lost the bet between me and Balor.”
“What exactly did you bet on?”
“How long it would take you to crack. Balor said a month.”
“How long did you give me?”
“A week.”
“Asshole,” I mutter.
Dean laughs at me, shaking his head.
“Can we go back to the beginning?” Juliette asks. “Gemma is what?”
“The one.”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Gemma
I can barely focuson the food in front of me. My brain is frozen. It broke somewhere around the time Declan called methe one. How could he even know something so profound? Why does it feel like a deep part of my soul resonates with him? Does he only feel this way because of Lonny? Is it some weird territorial thing?
“Is your food okay?” Declan asks, his voice cutting through the haze.
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m just… tired.”
He stands, holding his hand out. “Then, let’s go to bed.”
I grab hold of him without hesitance, letting him lead me out of the dining room. There are so many what-ifs running through my head. So many worries and questions.
“Gemma, about what I said… It’s a lot I know. I don’t want you to feel any pressure to reciprocate my feelings. You’ll be safe here no matter what.”
“Is it because of my uncle?”
My heart pounds. I’m not sure what I’ll do if he says yes. But I need to know if this is a trauma-bonding type of thing or real. Fuck. What if it is real? What am I going to do then? Maybe I don’t want him to say no either.
“No. I’ve been feeling this way for a lot longer than just today. You don’t need to worry about your uncle. I’ll take care of him.”
“Is that code for killing him?”
He smiles. “I am going to kill him, yes.”
His confidence is nice, but I don’t see how that’s possible. No matter how much my heart believes. Declan opens his bedroom door, stalling my reply. For a moment, I get swept up in the elegance of his room. The dark and moody reds are very on-brand for him. My eye is immediately drawn to his four-poster bed with a black canopy laying over it.
I move towards it. Running a hand over one of the poles, I answer him, “You can’t.”
“Your lack of confidence in me is discouraging.”
“I’m sorry,” I stammer. “I’m not meaning to hurt your feelings. I just mean Lonny is a monster.”
“And what do you think I am?”
“I- I don’t know. But I know you won’t hurt me.”
Declan closes the distance between us in what feels like a millisecond. He sits on the bed, pulling me down on his lap. Every point of contact between us is pulsing. Sending an electric wave through me that’s desperate for more.
